Valerie R. Leiter Simmons College, USA

Valerie Leiter is Professor and Chair of the Sociology Department at Simmons College. She received the Irving K. Zola Award for Emerging Scholars in Disability Studies. Much of her work focuses on children and youth with disabilities, including her book, Their Time has Come: Youth with Disabilities on the Cusp of Adulthood (Rutgers University Press). She has two current projects, one focused on individuals' experiences with autoimmune conditions, and the other on the Food and Drug Administration's regulation of women's health medical devices. Her teaching addresses health and illness, disability, children and youth, and sociological methods.